Appliances

What is Freight Class?

When you ship your products as LTL (less-than-truckload), you will need to assign your shipment a freight class number. The freight class number is a standard code published by the National Motor Freight and Traffic Association which allows carriers to quickly identify qualities of the shipment and assist with transportation logistics.

Appliances come in a variety of shapes, sizes and weights. Because of this, the freight class for Appliances can range from 60-400. We list some common home appliances and their associated freight class codes here. Generally, the lower the freight class code, the cheaper the shipment will be.


How to determine Freight Class

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Density

Density is identified by the dimension and weight of your shipment. Household appliances like toasters, microwaves and blenders can have varying freight class codes based on the density of individual pieces.

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STOWABILITY

Does your shipment require any special handling? Appliances like washing machines can require additional packaging to protect their glass windows, which can affect the freight class code.

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LIABILITY

Liability is defined by the value of your shipment and its likeliness to be stolen or damaged. High-end appliances may have a higher freight class number.

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HANDLING

Is your equipment difficult to stow or transport? Large items like refrigerators will need to be palletized, which can increase your cost to ship.

Freight Class Commodities

Tips

Household Appliances

Washers

Dishwashers

Refrigerator

60, 65, 70, 85, 92.5, 100, 125, 175, 250, 300, 400

100

175

200

The class will be determined by density.

Additional packaging is recommended over the glass window.

Additional packaging is recommended over the glass window.

We recommend placing refrigerators on pallets for ease of moving in transit.

Common Commodity Items

Classes

NMFC® SUBCLASSES

For many NMFC® codes there isn’t just one single class that is applied. Often, NMFC® numbers have multiple "sub-classes", which are almost always based on the density of the shipment. In the instance where your NMFC® number has multiple sub classes, it's best to contact an expert, like Koho, to help identify which subclass to use.

FAQs

Can I combine multiple kinds of appliances in the same shipment?

You can combine multiple appliances into a single shipment, but you must ship them under the appliance with the highest freight class to prevent reclassification.

What considerations are needed when packaging my appliance shipment?

‍The most common damage to appliances often occurs to any areas with glass. It's recommended to add additional packaging to appliances with glass to prevent unnecessary damage in transit.